Silver halide light-sensitive color photographic materials are usually processed with a color developing solution, a bleaching solution, a bleach-fixing solution, a fixing solution, a stabilizing solution, etc., to obtain an image. The respective processing solutions are usually contained in a plastic bottle and supplied to customers in the form of a processing kit and the customer prepares a working solution, (i.e., a starting solution and a replenishing solution) and then use the processing solution.
However, the processing kits have still needed to have a lot of spaces for storing them, and the transportation cost of the kits can also in no way be slighted.
For saving the storage space, cutting down the transportation cost and reducing the quantity of waste plastic bottles, it may be considered to pulverize a photographic processing composition and then to supply it. However, a pulverized photographic processing composition has not only such a problem that there is an apprehension for the worker's health, because the fine powder thereof is whirled up in the air when dissolving the composition and he may possibly inhale the flying powder, but also such a problem that a whirling processing composition component is mixed in another photographic processing composition and thereby a trouble is produced in the development process.
On the other hand, Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publication No. 3-39739(1991) discloses granulated agent of aminopolycarboxylic acid ferric complex, comprising a re-halogenation agent and having a certain average grain diameter. According to this method, since this granulated agent is not apparently powder shaped, scattering of the agent may be restricted, however, it was found that this had a defect that there is large variation of quality in the manufactured product, apparently due to the difference of bonding strength between ferric complex and the re-halogenation agent.
Further, it was found that there is another defect that physical property of the granulated agent is changed, with the lapse of time, and, finaly, the agent loses function as granulated particle.
So quality variation in the manufactured product tends to take place when the granulated agent is molded by compression molding and hardness of the tabular shaped composition manufactured therefrom can be deteriorated. The diameter and thickness of the tabular shaped composition expands with the lapse of time, and then, it is found that the hardness of the tabular shaped composition is deteriorated. Needless to say, expansion of the tabular shaped composition leads to a deterioration of a market value, and deterioration of the hardness of the tabular shaped composition often causes cracking and partial loss by vibration or impact applied during transportation, so that they are serious problems as to a quality of the tabular shaped composition.
Further, Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publications No. 5-119454(1993) and No. 6-19100(1994) disclose a tabular shaped processing composition comprising a ferric complex of aminopolycarboxylic acid and a re-halogenation agent.
Still further, Japanese Patent O.P.I. Publications No. 4-254853(1992) discloses a granular shaped composition comprising an aminopolycarboxylic acid ferric salt and polyethylene glycol.
According to this method, components of the granular shaped composition are stable, because polyethylene glycol functions as a binder, however, it was found that it is not sufficient to solve the variation of physical properties of the granular shaped composition. Furthermore, the granulated agent is compressed to prepare a tabular shaped composition, so that a hardness degradation of the tabular shaped composition with the lapse of time is avoided to some extent. However, it was found that cracks of the surface of the tabular shaped composition and expansion of the tabular shaped composition took place.
Still further, Japanese patent O.P.I. Publication No. 51-61837(1976) discloses a tabular shaped composition comprising a ferric complex of aminopolycarboxylic acid and lactose. In accordance to this method, again, although the binding force of the tabular shaped compositions may be enhanced to some extent, however, this method cannot solve the above-mentioned problems of storage under high temperature and low humidity conditions.
After long and intensive research on the solid photographic processing composition containing an aminopolycarboxylic acid ferric salt, when a sugar alcohol is contained in the solid photographic processing composition, the present inventors have discovered the following improved results. In a large-scale preparation, a content variation of the solid photographic processing composition is small, and the granulated properties is stable at the lapse of time, and, when the tabular shaped processing composition is prepared by compressing molding, expansion of the tabular shaped processing composition and hardness deterioration of the tabular shaped processing composition are not occurred.